Retail workers call for changes

About 40 people marched on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue on Wednesday, stopping in front of retailers such as Uniqlo and Abercrombie & Fitch. A union executive said salespeople are treated like day laborers rather than employees.

For retail workers, "underemployment" is a bigger problem than unemployment, according to a worker advocacy group that is organizing retail workers to protest "on call" scheduling and policies that allow them to work only one or two shifts per week.

About 40 people at the campaign, called the Retail Action Project, rallied and marched Wednesday on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, stopping in front of retailers such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Uniqlo to call for changes that would give sales associates more hours and regular work schedules.

The organizers of the campaign also have been reaching out to workers in North Jersey, although no rallies are planned at stores here.

The campaign is backed by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which has organized workers at some Manhattan stores, including Macy's, Bloomingdale's and H&M stores. Alvin Ramnarain, executive vice president of RWDSU Local 1102, said on-call scheduling, in which workers call in every day to find out if they are needed, treats retail salespeople like day laborers rather than employees.

On-call scheduling also is becoming a growing practice at hotels, package deliverers and airlines.

The rally Wednesday was sparked by a petition drive started by 22-year-old Abercrombie & Fitch worker Binou Kamara, who called for her employer to end on-call scheduling. That petition has been signed by more than 7,000 people, according to organizers.

Workers on Wednesday said on-call scheduling means employees never know until the last minute if they are needed, and makes it impossible to plan child care, take classes or hold a second job.

Abercrombie & Fitch did not respond to requests for comment on the petition.

Brittany Marques, 19, of Elmwood Park, a former employee at women's clothing store Charlotte Russe at Paramus Park mall and a supporter of the Retail Action Project, said in a telephone interview that she had to quit her job because the store would not give her hours that would allow her to attend classes. She is a criminal justice major at Felician College in Lodi. Marques said she couldn't attend the rally because of her class schedule, but hopes it makes retailers realize they need to improve how they schedule workers.

In contrast to earlier labor fights when workers demanded the 40-hour workweek to win relief from mandatory 10- and 12-hour days, the retail workers groups are demanding 40-hour workweeks as a cure for what they say is mandatory part-time employment.

Onieka O'Kieffe, 22, of New York, an employee at Harbor Freight Tools in the Bronx, said she has been given 10-hour-a-week shifts since June.

Ellen Davis, senior vice president of the National Retail Federation, said that nationwide, the majority of retail industry employees work full time, and those who work part time often do so by choice.

She cited 2011 Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers showing that 30.8 percent of retail workers are part time and that of those part-time workers, 67.7 percent chose to work those hours.

"So less than one-third of people who work in retail work part time, and of the people who do work part time, two-thirds of them want to do that," Davis said. "They're either going to school, they have a second job, they want to have flexibility in order to raise their family. They're retired and they're looking to supplement their income. There are a whole host of reasons why part-time works for people," she said.

Retail Action Project organizers said a bigger issue than part time is the unpredictability of on-call scheduling. Workers don't know if they will get 10 hours, 15 hours, or no hours, from week to week.

The rally Wednesday echoed complaints of Walmart workers, who have formed a group called Our Walmart, and organized strikes at stores in three states to demand a $13 hourly wage, full-time jobs for those who want them, and predictable work schedules.